1S55.] INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST, VANCOUVER'S ISLAND, &c. 



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These nets are ingeniously contrived, so tliat when a fish is 

 in them his own struggles loosen a little stick which keeps the 

 mouth of the net open while empty, but which, when the net 

 is full, immediately draws it together like a purse with the 

 weight of the salmon and etFeotually secures the prey. 



The salmon taken during this period of the year is split open 

 and dried in the sun for their winter's supply. I have never 

 seen salt made use of by any tribe of Indians for the purpose 

 of preserving food, and they all evince the greatest dislike to 

 salt meat. 



I may here mention a curious fact respecting the salmon of 

 the Columbia river ; they have never been known to rise to a 

 fly, although it has been frequently tried by gentlemen of the 

 Hudson's Bay Company, with the very best tackle. The salmon 

 go up the river as far as they possibly can and into all its tribut- 

 ary streams in myriads ; it is, however, a well known fact that 

 after spawning they never return to the sea, but all die in the 

 river; the Columbia is hardly ever free from gill nets, and no 

 salmon has ever been taken returning, and in the fall, where- 

 ever still water occurs, the whole place is tainted by their putrid 

 bodies floating in immense masses. I have been obliged to 

 travel through a whole night trying to find an encampment 

 which would be free from their disgusting effluvia. 



The Chinooks also catch a considerable nuniber of sturgeon, 

 which here attain to an enormous size, weighing from four to 

 six cwt. ; this is done by means of a long-jointed spear handle 

 70 or 80 feet in length, fitted into but not actually fastened to 

 a barbed spear-head, to which is attached a line, with this they 

 feel along the bottom of the river, where the sturgeon ai'e 

 found lying at the spawning season ; upon feeling the fish the 

 barbed spear is driven in and the handle withdrawn. The fish 

 is then gradually drawn in by the line, which being very long- 

 allows the sturgeon room to waste his great strength so that he 

 can with safety be taken into the canoe or towed ashoi'e. 



At the mouth of the river a very small fish, about the size 

 of our Sardines, is caught in immense numbers, it is called 

 there Uhlekun, and is much prized on account of its delicacy 

 and extraordinary fatness. When dried this fish will burn 

 from one end to the other with a clear steady light like a can- 

 dle. The Uhlekuns are caught with astonishing rapidity by 

 means of an instniment about 7 feet long, the handle is about 

 3 feet, into which is fixed a curved wooden blade about 4 feet, 

 something the shape of a sabre, with the edge at the back. In 

 this edge, at the distance of an inch and a-half, are inserted 

 sharp bone teeth about an inch long, the Indian standing in 

 the canoe draws this edgeways with both hands, holding it like 

 a paddle, rapidly through the dense schools of fish, which are 

 so thick that almost every tooth will strike a fish. One knock 

 across the thwarts safely deposits them in the bottom of the 

 canoe. This is done with such rapidity that they will not use 

 nets for this description of fishing. 



There arc few whales now caught on the coast, but the 

 Indians are most enthusiastic in the hunt. Upon a whale 

 being seen blowing in the offing they rush down to their large 

 canoes and push ofi", with 10 or 12 men in each ; each canoe 

 is furnished with a number of strong seal skin bags filled with 

 air, and made with great care and skill, capable of containing 

 about 10 gallons each, to each bag is attached a barbed spear- 

 head by a strong string about 8 or 9 feet long, and in the 

 socket of the spear-head is fitted a handle 5 or (j feet in length. 

 Upon coming up with the whale the barbed heads with the 

 bags attached arc driven into the whale and the handles with- 

 drawn. The attack is continually renewed \intil the whale is 

 no longer able to sink from the buoyancy of the bags, when 



he is despatched and towed ashore. The blubber of the whale 

 is much prized amongst them, and is cut into stripes about 2 

 feet long and 4 inches wide and eaten generally by them with 

 their dried fish. 



Clams and oysters are very abundant, and seals, wild ducks 

 and geese are taken in great plenty, but their fishing is so 

 productive that they subsist with very little labour. 



They are also very fond of herrings' roe, which they collect 

 in the following manner : — They sink cedar branches to the 

 bottom of the river, in shallow places, by placing upon them a 

 few heavy stones, taking care not to cover the green foliage, as 

 the fish prefer spawning on anything green, and they literally 

 cover all the branches by next morning with spawn. The 

 Indians wash this ofi' in their water-proof baskets, to the bottom 

 of which it sinks ; this is squeezed by the hand into little balls 

 and then dried, and is very palatable. 



The only vegetables in use amongst them are the Camas and 

 Wappattoo. The Camas is a bulbous root much resembling 

 the onion in outward appearance but is more like the potato 

 when cooked and is very good eating. The Wappattoo is 

 somewhat similar but larger and not so dry or delicate in its 

 flavour. They are found in immense quantities in the plains 

 in the vicinity of Fort Vancouver, and in the spring of the 

 year present a most curious and beautiful appearance, the 

 whole surface presenting an uninterrupted sheet of bright 

 ultramarine blue from the innumerable blossoms of these plants. 

 They are cooked by digging a hole in the ground, then putting 

 down a layer of hot stones, covering them with dry grass, on 

 which the roots are placed ; they are then covered with a layer 

 of grass, and on the top of this they place earth, with a small 

 hole perforated through the earth and grass down to the vege- 

 tables. Into this they pour water, which, reaching the hot 

 stones, forms sufficient steam to completely cook the roots in 

 a short time, the hole being immediately stopped up after the 

 introduction of the water. They often adopt the same inge- 

 nious process for cooking their fish, meat, and game. 



There is another article of food made u.se of amongst them, 

 which from its disgusting nature I should have been tempted 

 to omit were it not a peculiarly characteristic trait of the Chi- 

 nook Indian, both from its extraordinary character, and its use 

 being confined solely to this tribe ; it is, however, regarded 

 only as a luxury and not as a general article of food. The 

 whites have given it the name of Chinook Olives, and it is 

 prepared as follows : — About a bu.shel of acorns are placed in 

 a hole dug for the purpose close to the entrance of the lodge 

 or hut, and covered over with a thin laj'cr of grass, on top of 

 which is laid about half a foot of earth; every member of the 

 family henceforth regards this hole as the special place of 

 deposit for their urine, which is on no occasion to bo diverted 

 from its legitimate receptacle, even should a member of the 

 family be sick and unable to reach it for this purjrose the fluid 

 is carefully collected and carried thither. However di.sgusting 

 such an odoriferous preparation would bo to people in civilized 

 life the product is regarded by them as the greatest of all deli- 

 cacies ; so great indeed is the fondness they evince for this 

 horrid preparation that even when brought amongst civilized 

 society they still yearn after it and will go any length to obtain 

 it. A gentleman in charge of Fort George had taken to him- 

 self a wife, a woman of this tribe, who of course partook with 

 himself of the best food the Fort could furnish ; notwithstand- 

 ing which, when he returned home one day his nostrils were 

 regaled with a stench so nauseating that he at once enquired 

 where she had deposited the Chinook olives, as he knew that 

 nothing elso could poison the atmosphere in such a manner. 



